The Provision of Nonaudit Services by Accounting Firms to their Audit Clients*

Abstract. There has been a strong growth in accounting firms' provisions of nonaudit services to their audit clients. To date, however, there have been few studies into the determinants of this joint provision of audit and nonaudit services. One reason for the paucity of research is the lack of publicly available data with which to empirically examine relationships and test theories. However, recent legislation in the United Kingdom requires publication of nonaudit fees paid to a company's auditor, and this disclosure provides the data with which to investigate the joint provision of consultancy and audit services. A model is developed that seeks to explain a company's decision to hire nonaudit services from the auditor. The model argues that companies that face potentially high agency costs purchase relatively smaller amounts of nonaudit services from their auditor. High agency-cost companies require independent audits in order to reassure investors and creditors; the provision of joint services, which increases the economic bonding of the auditor to the client, may jeopardize independence or the appearance of independence. The model is tested using data observations from 500 companies, and the results indicate that companies that have higher agency-cost proxies are associated with smaller purchases of nonaudit services from their auditors.     

Audit Office Reputation Shocks from Gains and Losses of Major Industry Clients

Our study reports evidence on the dynamic effects of client switches on auditor reputations and fee premia. Offices of large accounting firms that lose (gain) major industry clients experience a reputation shock leading to more same‐industry client losses (gains) over the next two years. There is also a shift in audit fees charged to other same‐industry clients when a major client loss (gain) results in an audit office losing (gaining) city‐level industry leadership. A major client loss or gain also creates a short‐term capacity shock to an audit office's ability to supply high‐quality audits. However, there is no evidence of reputation spillovers to other‐industry clients in the audit office, or to clients in other offices of the accounting firm.     

Pricing of Initial Audit Engagements by Large and Small Audit Firms*

We investigate the extent to which auditors of U.S. companies reduce fees on initial audit engagements (“fee discounting”). We hypothesize that rivalries among sellers, in terms of client turnover and price competition, are more intense among small audit firms. The data support this hypothesis. New clients account for 34 percent of all clients for small audit firms, but only 9 percent of all clients for large audit firms. We theorize that differences in client turnover rates between large and small audit firms can be explained by the market structure of the audit industry, which consists of an oligopolistic segment dominated by a few large audit firms and an atomistic segment composed of many small audit firms. We further hypothesize and confirm that fee discounting is more extensive in the atomistic sector, and our results confirm this hypothesis. Our analysis of audit fee changes indicates that clients who switch auditors within the atomistic sector receive on average a discount of 24 percent over the prior auditor's fee. However, clients who switch auditors within the oligopolistic sector receive on average a discount of only 4 percent. Given that price competition is known to be less intense in oligopolistic markets than in atomistic markets, we believe that market structure theory can explain why fee discounting is lower when larger audit firms compete for clients.     

变色的“四大”：监管底牌

针对全球四大会计事务所（包括毕马威、普华永道、德勤和安永，以下简称“四大”）进入中国后的所作所为以及今后的走向，本土会计师事务所目前的竞争态势等都是国人一直争议不休的话题。     

预算软约束、企业财务风险与审计定价

本文具体考察在上市公司存在预算软约束的情况下,我国的会计师事务所在审计定价时如何考虑上市公司的财务风险.研究结果表明:①事务所的审计收费与上市公司的负债比率之间呈显著的正相关关系;②在国有上市公司中,预算软约束程度的增加降低了公司的财务风险,因此审计收费与公司负债比率之间的正相关关系有所减弱;③在金融发展水平比较高的地区,预算软约束程度的减轻提高了公司的财务风险,因此审计收费与公司负债比率之间的正相关关系有所增强.这一研究结果说明,我国的会计师事务所在审计定价时不仅考虑了上市公司的财务风险,而且还会根据公司的预算软约束程度对其财务风险进行相应的调整.     

Audit Fee Differential,Audit Effort,and Litigation Risk: An Examination of ADR Firms

Prior studies find that audit fees are higher for cross‐listed firms, and these studies primarily attribute the incremental fees to added litigation costs. In this study, we investigate whether the higher audit fees that foreign firms cross‐listed in the United States pay are also attributable to incremental audit effort associated with U.S. disclosure requirements and a more stringent U.S. auditing environment. By comparing audit fees of foreign cross‐listed firms to U.S. domiciled firms and to non‐cross‐listed foreign firms, we are able to decompose incremental audit fees into portions attributable to added audit effort and to added litigation costs. We find that, on average, foreign firms cross‐listed in the United States pay significantly higher fees than domestic U.S. firms and foreign firms that do not cross‐list. Furthermore, we find that audit effort is almost as important as litigation costs in explaining the higher fees associated with foreign cross‐listed firms; our estimates suggest that between 29 percent and 48 percent of the incremental fees are attributable to incremental audit effort. In addition, the total cross‐listing premium is increasing in the difference between the U.S. auditing regulatory environment and that of the home country of the cross‐listed firm. Our study improves our understanding of the role of audit effort in explaining the added fees charged by auditors when foreign firms cross‐list in the United States.     

中国会计师事务所内部治理:客户组合风险管理决策的实证检验

文章运用1998—2007年上市公司及会计师事务所的数据,首次实证检验了会计师事务所客户组合风险管理的最优策略,结果发现：就整体而言,事务所接受的新客户的风险最大值与诉讼损失显著正相关,2002年、2003年先后实施民事赔偿机制后依然正相关。但对审计阅历较长的审计师和上市年龄较长的客户而言,二者却显著负相关;与国外学者的发现不一致,事务所新客户数量与诉讼损失显著负相关,即事务所对客户取舍的依据是风险最大值而非均值。这说明,我国的民事赔偿机制亟待完善。     

如何让客户选择建行——建行吉林通铜支行行长王晓东谈如何为重点客户服务

我是1986年参加建行工作的，现任中国建设银行股份有限公司通化通钢支行行长，兼任通化分行大客户经理，具体负责对通钢股份有限公司营销事宜。在客户经理的工作中，我秉承爱岗敬业、刻苦钻研、奉献真诚的思想，实现了银企双赢的局面，并且作为成功的营销客户经理，我的事迹在建总行的〈建设银行报）上刊出。工作中在控制风险的前提下，我能够带领支行领导班子及全体员工，围绕价值最大化的经营目标，凝全行之心，集全行之智，举全行之力，以市场为导向，以客户为中心，以质量保证为前提，以调整结构为主线，     

Export Spillovers to Chinese Firms: Evidence from Provincial Data

Multinational firms are important conduits of managerial skills, foreign market linkages, and technology. Foreign export spillovers associated with multinational firms have the potential to reduce entry costs for local exporting firms. This paper examines whether exports by multinational firms increase the probability of exporting by domestic Chinese firms. The findings from the Probit estimation highlight the varying relationships between multinational exports and local foreign entry based on the type of ownership. The results from separating foreign-invested enterprises into overseas Chinese companies and OECD-based multinational firms suggest that the export activity of the former does not increase the probability of exporting by local firms, whereas the latter positively influence the export decision of local firms, particularly under processing trade.     

Understanding Audit Quality: Insights from Audit Professionals and Investors

Projects seeking to define, measure, and evaluate audit quality are on the agendas of auditing standards setters as well as audit firms. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) currently provides information regarding audit quality through the release of inspection reports, and the Board intends to establish and report audit quality indicators. To provide additional perspective on audit quality, we obtain auditors' and investors' views, definitions, and indicators of audit quality. We find that investors' definitions of audit quality focus more on inputs to the audit process than do auditors', and that investors view the number of PCAOB deficiencies as an indicator of overall firm quality. We find a consensus that auditor characteristics may be the most important determinants of audit quality, and that restatements may be the most readily available signal of low audit quality. We relate responses to a general audit quality framework, provide support for archival audit research, and identify additional disclosures that participants suggest could signal audit quality. Taken together, we provide evidence regarding the construct of audit quality in the post‐SOX environment, evaluate many of the audit quality indicators proposed by the PCAOB, and suggest avenues for future research.     

也谈中国企业为何饱受美国337调查之苦

据商务部统计，2002年以来，美国已对中国企业发起337调查60起。仅2007年1～10月，美对中国企业发起的337调查就有14起，占美同期立案总数的50％以上。面对美国利用知识产权限制中国高端产品出口的严峻形势，中国走向美国市场的企业正面临严峻的挑战。本文主要从主观方面（观念、制度）对比分析中国企业遭受美国337调查之苦的原因，并简要提出解决办法。[编者按]     

The Difficult Client‐Acceptance Decision in Canadian Audit Firms: A Field Investigation*

Auditing is often depicted in scientific and professional literature as being subject to conflicting forces, such as mechanization versus flexibility, and professionalism versus commercialism. This paper examines how auditors actually make the client‐acceptance decision in the midst of these forces. The investigation was conducted via a field study at three Big 6 firms located in Canada. The results show that in all firms the client‐acceptance decision process in action is largely flexible, being characterized by a high degree of informal communication and the adaptation of the client‐acceptance written policies and decision aids to circumstances. Furthermore, while commercialism in one firm (A) has a significant influence on the decision process, in the two other firms (B and C) the decision process is mostly consistent with professionalism. This result conflicts with the concerns that North American regulators have recently expressed about auditors' professionalism.     

中国信保为家电企业出口保驾护航

家电产业在中国制造业中占居重要地位。国家统计局数据显示．2008年中国家电行业产值为6823亿元．家电产品的出口额达358．5亿美元。中国已经成为彩电、空调、电冰箱、微波炉、电风扇等多种家电产品的最大生产国和出口国。家电行业涉及产品类别多，产业链条长，对经济和就业拉动效应显著．同时对出口依存度较高。     

员工参与:信息分享的视角

员工参与能够改善员工的工作态度,在组织中得到了越来越广泛的推行。管理者与员工能否共享决策所需信息,是员工参与能否真正实现的基本前提。文章对员工参与中的信息分享问题进行了研究,尝试提出了一个分析框架。从管理者与员工的分享意愿、能力、内容、渠道已及管理者和员工对信息分享的不同认知等角度,对该问题进行了分析,并提出了相应的管理建议。     

如何识别“宽护城河”公司

问题的关键是：投资是定量分析与定性分析的结合     

懂得客户的价值

知道“客户价值”的人不少，但能够将客户价值“落地”的人却不多，远大空调在此方面为我们树立了一个优秀典范。1995年，远大空调在推出第5代产品时，同时推出了终身免费的电话联网监控服务。远大集团出售的每一台机器都有Al智能控制系统，操作十分简便，技术人员又在其中附加了一个能够进行自我诊断的软件系统，对用户的使用模式进行监控，一旦发生故障空调会进行自动诊断，并发出警示。所有机器的运转数据都会通过网络被传送到远大空调的检测中心，由技术人员提供帮助。通过这套系统，     

风险导向审计在商业银行内部审计中的应用

商业银行所面临的内外部经营环境日趋复杂,风险也日益增加,传统的内部审计模式已无法满足商业银行经营和发展的需求。如何使有限的审计资源得以合理配置,提高审计效率与效果,已成为商业银行内部审计面临的崭新课题。本文从风险导向审计的一般概念入手,对商业银行开展风险导向内部审计的必要性与可行性,及风险导向审计在商业银行内部审计中的应用进行了分析,并提出了一些不断完善的建议。